Wednesday, July 31, 2013

This evil looking little girl is the advertising logo for a mom & pop company that makes journals. They use old, well worn book covers to bind journals. I almost bought one with a Dick and Jane primer cover, just for nostalgia's sake. Then common sense kicked in taunting me with, "And since when do you take the time to write letters, let alone write down your private thoughts?" Since the answer is pretty much never, I walked out of the booth without one of these cool journals. Spotted at the Temescal Street Fair.

Monday, July 29, 2013

When looking for murals, it pays to go back to your old hunting grounds. This mural--another product of the Community Rejuvenation Project--has appeared in recent months. This local auto repair shop offered its walls for several new works. This is what was on the this wall the last time I visited the area.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for
you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You get to decide what
constitutes a mural. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your
fellow posters. Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Last week I was driving down E. 8th Street and saw a crew painting a fence. So of course I had to stop to take pictures and talk with the guys. Meet Krash2 who is a member of TDK (Those Damn Kids) who organized the event.

Mostly they were "piecing"---writing their names on the fence in that wild font I can never read. Even when I learned their names, they had to show me where the letters were. Duh. Krash2 painted the O.K. Land part of the fence and an adjoining bit that features Jack London and another historical figure. He feels it's important to teach the younger guys more of local history.

They not only had permission to decorate the fence, the owner provided the paint. Krash2 took a lot time with me and I thank him for the education.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for
you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You get to decide what
constitutes a mural. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your
fellow posters. Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

I'll be out of town for a few days and will not be able to leave comments until the following week.

Monday, July 15, 2013

A new mural is going up in East Oakland near Fruitvale Avenue. The canvas is a sawtooth building which now serves as artist work spaces. Multiple artists have been contracted to decorate the wall facing E. 12th Street and they expect to be done by the beginning of August. This section is by Doty who has previously been featured here and here. Fellow artist Polka told me Doty is now into birds. Hopefully I'll be able to document more of the mural's progress.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for
you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You get to decide what
constitutes a mural. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your
fellow posters. Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Friday, July 12, 2013

The Alameda County Superior Court, built in 1934, is positioned on the shore of Lake Merritt. This late afternoon shot was taken from a roof garden at the Oakland Museum. The heatwave is over but the sunny skies continue. Linked to Skywatch Friday.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Meet 2/5 of Rita Lackey and Friends. They are an all female R&B band that had people up and dancing in the street this weekend at the Temescal Street Fair. Rita sings and plays keyboard but I did not get a good shot of her. Sorry, girl. Wish I played an instrument.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Today was the annual Temescal Street Fair on Telegraph Avenue which celebrates the neighborhood and Oakland in general. All kinds of local businesses have booths, there are four performance stages, and lots for kids to do. Seemed like everyone and their dog was there. There's something liberating about walking in the middle of the street checking out the scene. I also checked out the murals. This one was not here last year and is done by Jake Watlin. It looks cartoonish and I don't recognize the references. But when you take a closer look, there is an under texture of what looks like faded newspapers. It surprised me. It's around the corner from a mural I showed you last year.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for
you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You get to decide what
constitutes a mural. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your
fellow posters. Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Lake Merritt was the first wildlife refuge in North America and is on the migratory path of many bird species. Egrets and herons tend to hang around the bay's shoreline. This one was intent on grabbing something that caught his eye and made several passes at it, but came up with empty talons. I'm linking to Weekend Reflections even though this is more of a shadow than anything else. Hope it's allowed. BTW, this is a color photo, not a b&w.

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Inter-Tribal Friendship House has this wonderful mural in their parking lot. The IHF was established in 1955 as one of the first urban American Indian community centers in the nation. Once again I was shooting over a chain-link fence to get an image. I tried to crop out the junk that has been piled up against the wall, but you can see I wasn't too successful. Still, the dignity of the mural spoke to me.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for
you. Just follow the Linky steps below. You get to decide what
constitutes a mural. Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your
fellow posters. Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.